Air governor or brake



{No Model.) 3 Sheets--Sheet '1.

F. BRIGGS.

- AIR GOVERNOR 0R BRAKE.

No. 437,280. Patented Sept. 30, 1890.

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' F. BRIGGS. AIR GOVERNOR 0R BRAKE.

No. 437,280. gnted Sept. 30, 1890.

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v (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

P. BRIGGS. AIR GOVERNOR OR BRAKE.

No. 437,280. Patented Sept. 30, 1890.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK BRIGGS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

AIR GOVERNOR OR BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 437,280, dated September 30, 1890.

Application filed June 14, 1890- To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK BRIGGS, of the city of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air Governors or Brakes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention has relation to air governors or brakes for regulating and stopping the movement of a motor and other machinery; and it consists in the improvement substantially as hereinafter described. The object of my invention is to provide an air governor or brake by means of which the operation of the motor or machinery may be regulated, started, or stopped by a simple movement ofa lever-operated valve, doing away in my improvement with the employment of automatic spring-regulated valves, such as have been employed in certain construction of airbrakes.

Another object is to provide a double-acting air governor or brake in which the movement of the machinery or motor is controlled by both the compression and expansion of the air in the air-cylinder at the same time.

A further object is to provide the ingress and egress valves with mouths or ports so constructed that by a simple movement of the lever they may be opened to the full extent, or they may be closed entirely by a reverse movement, or partially closed to the area of the breadth of a hair, thus allowing the motor to operate at full speed, or to be brought to a standstill, or to operate at any intermediate degree of velocity desirable, the motor or machinery responding immediately to the movement of the valve-lever.

I will now describe my invention in connection with a spring-operated motor, to which class of motors my improvement is particularly applicable, though it can also be readily applied to any class of motors or operating machinery.

In the accompanying drawings similar letters and figures of reference refer to similar parts throughout.

Figure 1 represents the air-cylinder secured to the inside walls of a spring-operated motor and connected with the crank-shaft, the

Wheels of the motor.

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fiy-wheel of which is shown in dotted lines. Fig. 2 shows the mouths of the ingress and egress ports, which are connected with the air-cylinder, with the slide valve operated by a hand-lever. Fig. 3 is a plan view of a spring-motor operated by two springs, with the governor attachment, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view 011 the line cc 0c of Fig. 2, showing the connections of the air-valves. Fig. 5 is a side elevation, as in Fig. 2, showing in dotted lines the connection of the air-cylinder with the valved orifices and its connection with the Fig. 6 shows indetail the plates and fittings forming the valve detached. Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the air-cylinder on the line y y of Fig. 4.

A represents the air-cylinder secured to the inside wall B of the spring-motor by screwfastenings or otherwise. The piston a is connected with the main crank-shaft S by means of the piston-rod a and the connecting-rod a The cross-head h, to which the end of the piston-rod a is secured, gives an even motion to the piston-rod a, said cross-head it working on guides h, secured, directly or indirectly, to the wall B of the motor. The egress and ingress port-s in the plates K, leading to the aircylinder A, are sec ared to the outside Wall E of the motor to be opened or closed simultaneously and to the same extent and are connected with the said cylinderA by the air tubes or ports 25 t in the manner shown'in Fig. 1, the said tubes being connected, respectively, with the said cylinder at or near the respective ends thereof, forming the only air-connection with the interior of the cylinder, all other points of the chamber or cylinder being air-tight. The valved mouths of the respective ports or tubes 15 t are constructed in fine narrow slots 3 s,the total area of each of which is equal to or greater than the area of the respective tubes in cross-section. The object of reducing the area of the slots 8 s in cross-section from the point of connection with the tubes t t to the surface of the ports s s is to obtain, when desired, while the valves may be still open, the least possible exposed area for the eduction and induction of the air to allow the machine to operate at the least possible speed and to ICO readily regulate its operation by such means to any desired speed. Over the months .9 s is provided an air-tight slide-valve V, secured in position by the guides g and operated to and fro by the hand-lever L, which is pivoted at the point Z and connected with the valve V by the arm Z. A pawl p is connected to the lever L in the manner shown in the drawings, adapted to work in the rack r, and connected to the plate B, which said rack holds the lever in any desired position, thus regulating the admission and expulsion of air to the air-cylinder A.

In the construction shown the mouths of the air tubes or ports 15 t are connected with the slotted months 3 s in plate K in the manner shown in detail in Fig. 4. Theends of the respective tubes are screwed into plate 1, which plate is secured to the outside of the wall B of the motor. The outsides of the mouths of the respective orifices into which the tubes it are fitted in plate 1 are provided with longitudinal grooves of a length about equal to the slotted mouthss 5'. Next to plate 1 is preferably secured a rubber packing k, also grooved corresponding with the grooves in plate 1, and upon this is secured plate 2, also provided wit-l1 the slotted openings, which on its face terminates in the fine slotted months 3 s, the area of the slots or grooves in cross-section gradually decreasing from point of connection with the tubes or ports 15 t in plates 1 to the surface of the months 3 s. The said plates and ports, with the guiding-plate g, are secured together to the wall B of the motor by means of the screws w. In order that the guide-plate g may be regulated in its fitting upon the valve V, the orifices through which the screws w pass are elongated vertically, as shown in Figs. 2 and 6. Screws w are vertically provided in plate 2 to insure a compact fitting of the guide-plates g to the slide-valve V.

In the construction of the springmotor shownin the drawings, T T represent two springs fitted in the usual manner on a drum D, which drum, by means of the large gearwheel D, connects with and imparts motion to the crank-shaft S through the medium of the several respective gear-wheels secured on their respective shafts and connecting with the gear-wheel d, provided on the crankshaft S. The springs T T are wound up in the drum D by means of the handle H, connected through the medium of gear and ratchet wheels of the construction as shown in Fig. 3.

Supposing the slide-valve V to be fully opened and the lever L to be thrown fully forward, as shown in the dotted lines in Fig. 5, the machinery will be allowed to operate with full force and velocity. Reverse, however, the lever to the position shown in dotted lines in the same figure, and the valveV willbe closed and the ingress and egress of air into the cylinder A will be immediately checked. The piston-head a will immediately encounter be operating.

two resisting forces-a cushion of air in front and a suction or expansion from behind whichever way the piston may at that moment As the ports are closed by the valve and the cylinder A air-tight, the resistance of air coming in contact with the pistonhead in front and the consequent expansive tendency from the rear, both of which forces being greater than the propelling force of the motor, the piston is consequentlybrought instantly to a standstill. Should it be desired then to operate the machinery very slowly, the months 8 s are opened to the breadth of a hair by means of the lever L and the slidevalve V. A small quantity of air being thus allowed ingress and egress, the machinery will commence to operate slowly. In this manner by opening and closing the valves to the desired extent the machinery may be operated to any desired velocity. It will be seen that when the ports are opened the air is drawn in and forced out of the mouths s s alternately by the forward and backward motion of the piston, which pumps and forces out air alternately.

A ratchet-wheel b is provided on the crankshaft S, with a lever-operated pawl 1) attached to the wall B of the motor, by which means the machine may any time be stopped or prevented from moving independently of the governor when the governor is released.

I have shown a particular form of construction of my improved air governor and brake; but I do not limit myself to the particular form of construction described.

My slide-valve connections I have shown as located apart from the air-cylinder, but connected therewith by elongated air tubes or ports ti. My slide-valve connections maybe constructed upon or in close proximity to the air-chamber, or they may be at any distance therefrom. I have also minutely described and shown a particular construction of parts of slide-valve as connected with the connecting tubes or ports it. The construction shown is merely one form of construction, as other connections with the elongated slots or months 3 s with the air-cylinder A may be made by mere mechanical change.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A revolving shaft, in combination with a cylinder having induction and eduetion valved ports constructed with separate mouths opening externally and adapted to open and close at the same time to the same extent, a piston working in said cylinder, and connections with said revolving shaft, substantially for the purpose as described.

2. In combination with a motor or other machinery, a cylinder having induction and eduetion valved ports constructed with externally-opening mouths and adapted to open and close at the same time to the same extent and apiston workingin said cylinder connected with and actuated by said motor or machinery to compress and exhaust air within the cylinder at the same time for the purpose of regulating and controlling the operation of the motor or machinery, substantially as described.

3. In combination with a revolving shaft, an air-cylinder provided with inlet and outlet valved ports, the mouths of which said ports are constructed of narrow openings or slots adapted to be opened or closed, respectively, simultaneously to the same extent, and a piston working in said cylinder connected by piston-rods or other suitable connections to the revolving shaft, substantially as described.

4. A revolving shaft, in combination with an air-cylinder, a piston working in said cylinder, connecting-rod connecting said piston with a crank on said shaft, and inlet and outlet ports connected, respectively, with the chamber of said cylinder at or near its respective ends, the mouths of said ports opening externally in fine longitudinal slits or slots adapted to be opened or closed by slidevalves, substantially as described.

5. In combination with a revolving shaft, air compressing and expansion devices actuated by said revolving shaft, and valves or ports having external mouths constructed to be opened and closed simultaneously to the same extent and to expose,when desired, the least possible area in cross-section when partially opened to allow the motor while yet in motion to run at the least possible speed.

6. The combination of a revolving shaft, means to rotate said shaft, air compressing and expansion devices actuated by said shaft, and a regulating slide-valve provided with induction and eduction ports having narrow elongated mouths,whereby the orifices of said ports may be closed or opened or the area of the mouths of the ports reduced to a minimum to regulate the ingress and egress of air into the air-chamber, for the purpose substantially as described.

7. The combination of the crank-shaft S, cylinder A, piston-head a, rod or, connecting-rod a induction and eduction ports 25 t, elongated months 8 s of said ports t t, and said valves V, constructed and operated in the manner and for the purpose substantially as described.

8. Cylinder A, in combination with crankshaft S, piston a, piston-rod a, connectingrod a ingress and egress ports or tubes t t, slide-valve V, and months 3 s of said ports or tubes 25 t, said slidevalveV operated between guide-plates g g by lever L and connections, substantially as described.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

FRANK BRIGGS.

itnesses:

J OHN BRIGGS, HORACE PETTIT. 

